From Lightning to Fire
by rishi-is-a-spinda
Summary: Even two years after Wally's disappearance, Nightwing still hasn't given up hope that his best friend is alive. But a new hero by the name of Flamebird keeps appearing and disappearing. There are things about this hero that are strikingly familiar.
1. A Flash of Red

**Title: **From Lightning to Fire**  
Chapter: **A Flash of Red**  
Pairing:** Birdflash (WallyxDick)  
**Rating:** E for everyone...at the moment...  
**Words:** 1344  
**Summary: **Nightwing never gave up on his best friend, Wally, when he disappeared. Even after two years. Suddenly, a new hero appears under the name Flamebird.  
**A/N: **This will be a multi chapter fic- cause I got delicious ideas from this prompt, which I'll hopefully update every Thursday. I hope you guys enjoy. Feedback is appreciated. I'm just gonna go hide in the corner now.

* * *

When the last magnetic field disruptor went chrysalis, Wally didn't even hesitate to go. To add his own kinetic energy to his uncle's and cousin's. Although he wasn't as fast as the other two speedsters, he knew he had to help. What he wasn't expecting was for the chrysalis' energy siphon off onto him because he was slower. His whole body screamed at him to stop but he refused.

Each time it hit, it felt like lightning coursing through his body, like the moment he recreated the Flash's experiment and got his super powers. Faintly he heard Barry telling Bart to slow down but Wally knew it was no use.

"Ugh, it's no good Barry." His whole body felt like he was trying to vibrate through something.

"Artemis is so gonna kill me for this. Not to mention mom and dad," he managed to say. _Keep going._

"Just tell them okay?" He asked, staring at his mentor. _Don't stop._

_Must keep running._ The thought played through his head as he struggled to take another step. And another. His legs burned from the strain. A few more steps and his legs gave out, causing the red head to crash into the ice and snow. His suit didn't keep the cold out for long, and it crept into his very being it seemed. The frozen air seared his throat with every breath. Against his will, his green eyes slid shut.

"This better not have been some kind of wild goose chase sending me to the arctic or I swear I'll- whoa! There is someone here. Guess I owe her an apology. That's gonna suck." A voice cut through the air- it was light and airy at first but turned to worried in less than a second. Wally tried to move, to speak, to even open his eyes but his body refused to comply. A second later he could feel hands patting his cheeks- barely.

"Hey, you alright? Right, stupid question. At least he's breathing...kinda." The uncertainty in the voice wasn't comforting. Again, the speedster tried to make his body respond. Nothing. It felt like he was being half hoisted and half dragged onto the voice's owner's back.

"I swear to God I'm taking weight training next year." The grunted promise was the last he heard as his consciousness drifted away.

* * *

Dick Grayson thwarted three robberies, two drunken fights and an attempted rape and yet he could not get his mind to focus. For two years he hadn't been able to.

He still had relationships, even if they did end rather abruptly. Still went on patrol. Still ate. Still had what was the batfam equivalent of sleep. His best friend, Wally did not. The once boy wonder had dealt with death before but this one lingered with him. Like his whole body refused to accept it. He went over the footage of the event hundreds of thousands of times. People did not just disappear into thin air, super powers or not. He obsessed over it when everyone else had given up, agonizing over what he could have done differently. Not convinced Artemis to come back to the heroing life? Convinced Wally to? Told the team all of the secrets? Had someone else lead the team?

His comm trilled a couple of times interrupting his thoughts, announcing to Nightwing that he had a call. He had hooked up his communicator so that it would intercept his cell phone calls. Ever since Dick left the team, someone either called or dropped in on him to try and convince him to return. It had been frequent at first but, thankfully, over time they seemed to have given up. He was kinda of regretting it.

With a sigh he answered it, wincing at the tone of the caller. "Geez Dick, sure took your sweet time answering."

"Babs, I'm on patrol, can your sermon on how the team needs me wait?" He asked agitation coloring his words. His eyes scanned the street below, half listening to his friend.

"Self-centered much? Not everything revolves around you, Dick. I called to ask if you had any information on this new hero that's been running around."

"New hero?"

"Yeah. Apparently he's been running around in a really flashy costume." He could hear the regret in her voice at her word choice as soon as she had spoken.

"Is it dark red with a yellow cape?"

"Yeah? You've heard something?"

"No, but I think I see him now. I'll call you back." He pressed his communicator, ending the conversation. On the ground below, the said cape crusader was fighting five men clad in all black, ski masks covering their faces- no doubt up to no good.

One of them advanced onto the hero, head on- fist pulled back. But when he swung, the hero grabbed his arm with both hands, twisted the man's arm and spun around, flipping the attacker over him. Dick whistled silently in appreciation as he caught the next kick, swiping the other out from under the man. It was apparent the new hero had some training, nothing near the years Dick had but a sufficient amount all the same. It was about time he and the newbie got acquainted

Nightwing dropped down to the street below with a sigh as two of the goons- really, what other word could you call them- tried to approach the brightly costumed hero from behind. He made quick work of the unsuspecting men, knocking them out cold as the new hero was dealing blows with the final goon.

This last one seemed more experienced than his comrades. He blocked punches and dodged some others. He even managed to get in a solid punch to the new hero's abdomen, causing the brightly costumed individual to stumble back a few steps.

"Down," Nightwing called out and the hero reacted instantly. He crouched down as Nightwing ran and jumped over him, kicking the goon in the jaw- sending him to the ground. It was then that Dick was able to get a good look at the new hero- who was just standing back up.

A dark red unitard covered his body with knee high yellow boots. On his chest was a golden yellow flame like v shape- kinda like a flock of birds- that went to his shoulders and flowed into his cape- which also had flame like tattered edges. Around the man's waist was a golden belt- possibly of the utility variety. A domino mask of the same color as his cape hid his identity. His red hair was about chin length and slightly messy. The new hero stared at Nightwing with surprise but it was quickly replaced by an eerily familiar smile.

Just as Dick was about to open his mouth to speak, the look on the hero's face changed. Before the 'flashy' could put a warning into words, Nightwing already was acting. His arm swung around and wrapped around his attacker's neck, flipping him onto the ground. He wasn't sure which goon it had been and couldn't care. His attention quickly went back to the new hero only to see an empty spot where he had been.

* * *

"How'd it go?" A voice filled with exhaustion huffed out the question. He was surrounded once again by mind numbing cold, though it didn't bother him much anymore. Especially not after what had just happened.

"It was great. Stopped a robbery, saw an old friend, had some chicken whizzes-"

"Hold it."

"Sorry. If I had been thinking about it, I would've snagged you a bag."

"Red," the voice growled warningly. He could feel her glare burning into his back.

"How was I to know he was in that city? He's usually in a different one-" Flamebird sighed at the disapproving silence that answered him.

"Did you at least notice? Each time I was able to stay longer," the red head said, excited. He reached up and removed his yellow domino mask. "When can we try again?" Wally grinned to himself as the girl behind him groaned in frustration.


	2. A Strange New Rift

**Title: **From Lightning to Fire**  
Chapter: **A Strange New Rift**  
Pairing:** Birdflash (WallyxDick)  
**Rating:** E for everyone…at the moment…  
**Words:** 1980  
**A/N: **So, the two years that's been missing for Wally will be done in flashbacks at the start of the chapter. I've toyed with where he was at before starting this- alternate universe, yay! (If you hadn't figured that out, I'm sorry!) Anyways, I went back a forth between a few ideas. One where the heroes were villains and vice versa (like crisis on two earths), one where everyone's gender's were flopped (that was really tempting) and finally (the one I went with) is the heroverse my sister and I created. So there will be some OC's and I apologize if that's not your thing, though they don't play that big of a role- for the most part.**  
**

And thank you for the reviews/views and everything. I'm gonna go hide now.

* * *

_"I have an unconscious man on my bed. My dad's gonna freak. No, I can't just drop him off at the hospital. What do you think the hospital is gonna do with a guy in costume with no ID?"_

_Someone was arguing with another person. Possibly on the phone since he couldn't hear the other end of the conversation. Otherwise he was really out of it._

_"Of course he has no ID. Yes, I checked. There's only so many places ID can be in a skin tight outfit! What do you mean pervert?! Don't you dare hang up on me or I swear I'll-"_

_But there was something wrong about this. He wasn't suppose to be somewhere warm. That voice wasn't familiar. And there was definitely a feeling that there was something urgent he had to do._

_"He hung up on me. When I get a hold of him, the things I'll do to that boy would make people's heads spin. Evil things. Things a young girl like me should never even consider. I'll shear him. Yep, that's what I'll do. Right in front of everyone too."_

_Wally pressed his eyes together as pieces of memories assaulted him like a bad hangover. Running with Barry and Bart to save the world from the chrysalis mfd. Beating the light and reach at their secret rendezvous- destroying their alliance. Yelling at Nightwing, blaming him for everything going wrong. For sending Artemis behind enemy lines. Never really apologized to him for being such a...Grayson._

_"Nightwing!'' Whoa, that was weird. Why did he just call out for Dick? Artemis should've been the first name. Or his mom, or dad, or Barry. Heck, even Bart might have been higher on the chain than Dick._

_His body felt like lead, the muscles in his legs twitched from overuse. Wally tried to push himself up but was forced back down by a gloved hand. Hovering over him was a girl who looked down at him like a mother bird watching worriedly over her chicklings. Behind her pink goggles, he saw her expression change from one of concern to that of disbelief and amusement._

_"Nightwing? That's the first thing you decide to say upon waking up? Not 'Where am I? Who are you? Why am I not freezing my totally hot buns off?' Because they are. Totally hot that is. Not that I'm trying to sexual harass you. Just admiring and stating the facts. Is there some code for heroes that states we can't sexually harass the people we save? I'd think there would be. Someone really needs to hold a hero seminar so we can all learn these rules. Or write a book. I would totally buy that book." Wally found it kind of hard to keep up with the girl's speech, like when Barry and Bart began talking. Her words seemed to ramble on, not like how a speedster does when they kick up the speeds on their mouth. It was more like once the floodgate opened, it wouldn't stop till all of it poured out. But he was positive that this was the voice he heard arguing minutes ago._

_"What are you-" he started to ask as he tried to get up- only to be pushed back unto the bed by the teen._

_"Whoa there, Red. Might want to take it easy. You've been out of it for several days now. Had me worried there for a bit. Actually, longer than a bit. And more than worried. Try freaked the hell out! But you're awake now and that's all that matters. Well...that's not really all that matters, but baby steps."_

_The girl was rambling again, twirling her maroon colored hair with her fingers. Her words were trailing on and on like her hair. It was getting increasingly difficult to focus, especially with a voice droning on, kinda like high school. He tried once more to get up but was pushed back down again. This was getting ridiculous._

_"How many times do I have to tell you to take it easy, Red-"_

_"Stop calling me that."_

_"Seeing as how you haven't introduced yourself yet, I figured I had the artistic liberty to name you as I saw fit till you decided to grace me with the knowledge. If you ever do-"_

_"I'm Kid Flash," he answered, indicating his clothes- as if it wasn't already obvious who he was. Really, who couldn't recognize Kid Flash or at least the symbol of the Flash on his chest._

_"Really? That's the name you're going with? Out of everything you could've picked, that's what you decided on. You could've thrown out anything and I would've been none the wiser- a little suspicious maybe but still-"_

_"What's wrong with Kid Flash? I'm the protegee to the Flash."_

_"Look I don't know what you and this Flasher character have going on but-"_

_"The Flash isn't some sort of pervert!"_

_"Cool your jets Flashlight," she sighed and folded her arms across her chest. She cast her glance up to the ceiling. "Is someone to trade witty repertoires with, that doesn't shed and smell like wet dog too much to ask for?" When there was no answer the teen shook her head lightly and looked back to Wally. "I think I'm gonna stick to calling you Red."_

_"You've...never heard of the Flash?"_

_"Nope. And hopefully I'm not being offensive but should I have?"_

_This was wrong. So very wrong. He pushed himself from the bed as fast as he could. There was something wrong there too. That fast wasn't very fast at all. There was no time to dwell on it as spikes of pain shot through his legs and they collapsed under him. It wasn't just twitching muscles but his legs actually twitching. He clenched his green eyes shut._

_"Red? Red! Oh, why didn't you listen to me?!"_

* * *

Dick stripped off his costume, throwing the pieces onto the bed- starting with the little bits. He threw his eskrima sticks onto the bed with a frustrated grunt. There one minute, gone the next. Even after an extensive search, he couldn't find any trace of the new hero. It was like he hadn't even been there. The only people he knew that could disappear like that were those trained by Batman and the Bat himself.

He was more than positive that whoever this brightly colored hero was, he wasn't one of them. How had he disappeared so quickly? Who was he? And why was he so strikingly familiar?

He began to remove his unitard when a wolf whistle behind him caught his attention. Whipping around, he was greeted by the sight of Batgirl leaning against his wall, legs crossed at her ankles and arms across her chest.

"I wasn't expecting a show. Not that I don't appreciate it, but you must be really out of it if you didn't notice me standing here."

"A lot on my mind. Do you mind?"

"Nothing I haven't seen before," she answered with a smirk but turned around anyway to give the once-boy-wonder time to change.

"What do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" He asked as he removed the rest of his costume.

"We were in the middle of a call, remember? About that new hero? You were suppose to call back." She waited a few seconds in silence. When Nightwing didn't answer, she prompted him. "So?"

"He fought of a group of thugs and disappeared so suddenly that Batman would've been impressed," he grunted as he pulled on an old t-shirt. It was black with white text reading: STAND BACK, I'M GOING TO TRY SCIENCE. With a small stick figure holding beakers in the air. It had been Wally's, not that anyone had noticed. One that the once fastest teen had forgotten at Dick's place from a sleepover. It seemed like a long time ago. Before Artemis went undercover. Before the invasion. Totally not creepy. He grabbed a pair of shorts, yanking them on.

"And _you_ didn't find him?" He heard the emphasis she placed on you- disbelief that the great Dick Grayson couldn't locate the new hero. "I guess finding out more about him and extending an invitation to the team will have to wait. Speaking of the team-"

"How are Artemis and Kaldur?" He asked hoping to steer the conversation away from returning to the team.

"They're good. Everyone thinks they're a good couple and they recently had a double date with Conner and M'gann."

"That's not what I meant."

"I know but you already know the team forgives them for their deceit. The team's not mad at you either for it, you know. Not anymore at least."

And they were back on that again. "Can we just drop that? I'm not ready yet."

"It's been two years Dick, you should accept it. Everyone else has."

"Drop it, Babs."

"You can't keep doing this. He was your best friend. He wouldn't have wanted you to dwell like this." She was silent with her exit, but Dick knew when she had gone. With a sigh, he plopped down onto his bed, pushing his costume out of the way. He reached over, grabbing his computer from his nightstand. Instead of pulling up the footage from two years ago that he usually reviewed, Dick pulled up the data from the mini cam in his utility belt- downloading tonight's footage. The way it seemed like he expected to move faster than he did, his figure, those adorable freckles, and the all too familiar smile. It couldn't be.

* * *

Wally watched the city move about below him. Central City at twilight was beautiful in his opinion. He really shouldn't be here, there was a big chance he would run into someone he knew but he missed this place. At the thought of seeing someone he knew, he couldn't help remembering the night before. Seeing him. Fighting alongside him. If only he hadn't embarrassed himself and fought better.

He had wanted nothing more than to rush over to his best friend and crush him in a hug. To talk with him. But then that thug attacked and he had been pulled back. Ugh, why was life so unfair?

The earpiece made a small static noise and before he could even say a word her voice cut in. "So Red," the voice crackled through the earpiece. "What's it like there, exploring a new world?"

"It's hardly new to me," Wally huffed. He touched the small communication device in his ear in slight wonder. "Can't believe this is working. Where'd you get them from?"

"I can't believe they're working too. I bought a cheap pair at an army surplus store." He could hear the shrug in her voice.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"You know all my money goes into costume maintenance, or did you think money grew on trees?"

"These are so low tech though."

"You're such a," Static sounded through the earpiece, "-that, Red."

"You wanna repeat that?" He asked with a smirk, teasing.

"Yes, I would. You. Are. An. As-"

"Alright, alright. I get it." Wally groaned as he descended from the rooftop to the ground below, making use of the fire escapes and the closeness of the buildings. "Why people think you're sweet is beyond me."

"I haven't the foggiest of what you mean."

Wally's snort in response was lost when he landed upon the ground and a solid object slammed into him. The red head stumbled backwards a few steps and stared at what had run into him. It wasn't a something but a someone. His first cousin once removed to be exact.

"Whoa, sorry. So not crash. Usually fast enough to avoid things like this. You just kinda popped out of nowhere," the speedster rambled. "And I was busy thinking about- youdon'treallyneedtoknow."

"Bar- Im- Kid Flash."


	3. Ambient Exposure

_**Title: **From Lightning to Fire**  
Chapter: **Ambient Exposure**  
Pairing:** Birdflash (WallyxDick)  
**Rating:** E for everyone...at the moment...  
**Words:** 1707  
**Summary: **Nightwing never gave up on his best friend, Wally, when he disappeared. Even after two years. Suddenly, a new hero appears under the name Flamebird.  
**A/N:** Tried to get this out sooner but it didn't happen. Quite a bit will be explained next chapter. I hope you enjoy.  
_

* * *

_"Maybe I should have taken you to the hospital."_

_"No, you did fine," Wally answered for the fifth time staring at the bags of ice packed around his legs- avoiding the screen of the open laptop to his left. The bed shifted on his right as the teen plopped down on it, jostling him slightly._

_"Sorry," came the soft whisper and he knew what she was referring to. That when he tried searching The Flash on the internet, he came up with nothing. Even when he searched other heroes- like Superman or Batman- the results were the same. Even Gotham City didn't seem to exist._

_"You know, when I first started running, I used to wake up in the middle of the night, legs spazzing out. I ended up crying the whole night, not knowing what to do. Dad thought I was crying because-," she stopped what she had been about to say, as if she thought better. "If only I had thought of icing my legs then. Gosh, what a simple solution." The several conscious hours Wally had spent in her company, he learned that the girl babbled no matter her mood._

_"Speaking of, I'm such a spazz," the girl groaned, jumping off the bed with a soft ufph. With a quick 180 turn that had her hair trailing behind her, the teen faced Wally with a big grin. She presented her gloved hand with a little laugh. "After giving you so much grief about your name, I never introduced myself. I'm Velocity, greatest hero of East District. I'd be the greatest hero of District City- that's where we are just so you know, Red- but there's three other heroes in the running for that title."_

_"Velocity? Like the rate of change of the position-"_

_"Whoa, Red! Math is a no-no. Within one day you find out my weakness. Not cool." Velocity let her ignored hand fall with a sigh._

_"Does that mean...you're a speedster too?"_

_"Of course I'm a- too?! You?!" It was like her body froze up for a fraction of a second before a smile broke out, pushing away her surprise. She practically bounced from foot to foot with a happy sort of energy that seemed to come from nowhere. "How do you do it? How do you stop? I'm so sick and tired of running into walls, tripping over my own feet and face planting into trash cans. Please tell me how."_

_Wally was about to laugh it off, there was no way she didn't know, but the look in her eyes made him stop. The teen was serious. He pressed his lips together trying to think of just how to answer that question. "You just stop. You don't really think about it, you just do."_

_"Really, Red? That doesn't help any. Come on, there has to be some sort of secret. No? Fine, don't tell me." With a exasperated sigh, she knelt onto the floor- resting her head on the bed. Velocity cast her glance up at him. "So, how do you think you ended up here? I'm assuming you didn't go through a door labeled alternate dimension or follow a rabbit down a hole or anything like that."_

_"Maybe the kinetic energy-"_

_"Magic, gotcha."_

_"That's not-"_

_"Like math, the sciences and I aren't friends. So let's save us the headache that'll come with trying to explain things like that to me and leave it at that." She let a silence fill the air for a few seconds before speaking up again. "What about this Nightwing guy? Is he your boyfriend?"_

_"What- No!" Wally rushed to deny it. What was with this girl? Sure, he'd admit Dick was cute and the acrobatics really kept his body toned and- Whoa, he wasn't going there. Dick was his best friend. Plus Wally was in love with Artemis. Yep, not getting into this._

_"It's alright. I'm not judging you. Be who you want, like whoever you want. Just-"_

_"Dude, no. He's my best friend. I have a girlfriend. Her name's Artemis."_

_"Me think the guy doth protest too much," Velocity laughed. With a little gasp, she jumped up from the ground. "Oh, oh, oh!"_

_"What?" he growled the question._

_Velocity stared at him for a few seconds before rolling her eyes. She bit her lower lip as if debating what she was going to say for once. "Look, I was going to say that we have a guest room you can stay in. I just have to talk to my dad and get his permission. You know, until we can find a way to get you back home. Cause I'm pretty sure that getting a place to stay with no job and not existing in this dimension is impossible unless you had some sort of connection, but if you're gonna be a grouch about it..." She trailed off with a shrug but didn't let him speak as she pulled off her goggles. "My name's Alexis Bohkner, can I get yours? Cause I'm positive whatever excuse I'm giving my dad, he's not going to accept your name being Kid Flash."_

_"Wally West."_

_"Wow. Your second chance to pick a name and that's what you go with. Well, Wally, you don't disappoint. It's nice to meet you." Alexis headed to the door but stopped, glancing back at him. "And we should probably get you a shower before you meet my dad because I don't think the sponge baths and the bottle of fabreeze I practically dumped on you has done any good. But first, food."_

* * *

"Yep, that's me. Kid Flash. Who are you? Do I know you? Oh! You're the new hero everyone keeps talking about. Uh-"

"Flamebird," Wally stated, cutting his cousin off.

"Flamebird? Crash. Hmm, you look really familiar. Have we met before? Cause if we had that would be so moding. Not remembering and all. Maybe out of costume?"

"Hey, Red, you okay? You usually fire off some sort of comeback by now. It's kinda of our thing. I say something insultive, then you and repeat. If it's just me, it's kinda pointless and sad. Heeeeello?" Alexis's voice sounded through the earpiece. It sounded off, a little more distant sounding- like the device wasn't sitting in his ear right. "I can and will purposefully annoy you. You know I will Red. I warned you. Alright, here I go. I love you, you love me, we're a happy family~"

Wally tried to ignore her. He really did, but when she began to sing her voice kicked up several octaves- as if she was barely holding it back from going super speed. "Will you please shut up, Vel?!"

His cousin stared at him, blinking his eyes at his outburst. Suddenly a smile spread across his face. "You talk to yourself? That's crash. Not that you talk to yourself. Just that my friend Jai-Blue talks to himself all the time. Well, not to himself. He's actually talking to the alien scarab on his back. You're not though...right?"

"So he deigns to speak to one so unworthy such as I? But it is too late. He has already brought the righteous fury of hell upon him. Which brings up the question, can hell have righteous fury? I mean it is hell. Which brings up heaven but that doesn't seem to fit at the moment," Velocity rambled on in his ear.

Wally groaned as the two speedsters spoke simultaneously. "Don't make me hurt you," he growled.

"What did you say?" Bart asked, his eyes wide in surprise and recognition. "Say that again. You sounded just like- But that's not- Say that again."

Great. He had said something like that to the kid before. He turned and began to run, though he knew it was almost impossible to try and ditch the speedster, but he had to try. Plus, he knew this city better than anyone from all the patrols he'd done with his uncle Barry. And there was Velocity singing another song in his ear.

"Some people started singing it, not knowing what it was and they'll-"

"Vel, can you postpone the children's karaoke night and help me? Please?"

"But its **kids**' night, Red."

"Hehe, goat," the once speedster couldn't help but laugh.

"But do pray tell, how can I help? Different dimensions and all? I don't even know what's going on."

"Then shut up."

"Rude much?" But she went silent just the same. A blessing.

Wally took the next right, it should have lead him into another alleyway- one that would have given him plenty of spaces to throw some traps. Like ice pelts and gunk balls and- alright, he wasn't letting Velocity name any more of his gadgets. But instead of an alleyway it led to a brick wall after ten feet. That definitely hadn't been there two years ago. Of course, things change. Wally could almost hit himself for being so stupid.

He turned around, preparing himself for a confrontation with his cousin. Almost immediately hands gripped his shoulders, pushing him against the brick wall- pinning him. He felt the earpiece fall out, though he couldn't bring himself to quite care at the moment, what with Bart's green eyes boring into him with questions that demanded answers. Bart removed one of his hands, reaching it toward Wally's mask. Wally closed his eyes, an all too familiar feeling beginning in his gut. The feeling that his whole body was beginning to vibrate.

The sound of sirens resounded through the night and Wally's eyes snapped open- Bart had turned to look, as if he could see the street from there. With the split second distraction, Wally shoved Bart away from him and tried to run but the vibrations shook throughout his body- pulling him back to Velocity's dimension. In his vision, Central City begins to distort, pieces of the arctic taking it's place. But he can still see enough of it. Can see as Bart reached out toward him and Wally pulls backwards- out of his cousin's grasp but it only half worked. Bart's fingers grazed his face, grabbing his domino mask.

His cousin's mouth moves and Wally caught his name before Central City completely fades away and the arctic landscape is all he could see. Well, that and a slightly peeved Velocity.


	4. A Hero Once More

**Chapter:** A Hero Once More  
**Pairing: **Birdflash (DickXWally)  
**Rating: **T for mild language, or implied of it**Word count: **4707  
**A/N:** I'm so sorry. This is like a week late but I hope the content/word count makes up for it. Instead of sprinkling the flashbacks throughout the story, I decided to do a lump sum of them. But I did cut out some flashback ideas so I wouldn't be shoving a bunch of things at you all.

* * *

One year and eleven months and three weeks ago

With a sigh, Wally began flipping through the channels. Waiting was always torture for the red head. A csi show, Judge Judy, Oprah, Blues Clues, a 90's sitcom. He finally settled on a cartoon about a cat trying to catch a bird. He shifted his body, situating himself into a more comfortable position-or at least trying to- on the obnoxiously flower print couch. Forcing himself not to focus on the fact his body didn't seem to move as fast as he was used to. Now wasn't the time to worry about that considering there were more pressing matters at hand.

At least the hard part was over. Alexis had introduced him to her father under the pretense that he was a college student in need of housing, while Wally stood on protesting legs in clothes that didn't quite fit right. Clothes that Velocity had claimed to had borrowed from her friend's cousin or something, but she had spoken too fast and wouldn't meet his gaze. Clothes that were too loose in certain places, too tight in others. He had a sinking suspicion that they belonged to a girl.

So when he was asked to wait in the living room while they discussed his fate, Wally gladly accepted.

"I thought you and Leslie were-" He heard the teen's father's voice over the television only to be cut off by Alexis herself.

"Ugh. Quit trying to pair me up with my female friends. I'm not like you and mom."

A few seconds later she stormed into the room, throwing herself onto the couch.

"Good news, Red. The spare room is yours cause apparently some people are more concerned with playing matchmaker than stranger danger." Wally winced as the teen yelled the last part back toward the room she had just left.

"I don't have time for this. I'm late," her father hollered.

"I hope he chokes on your co-"

"Alexis! I"m sorry about her, Wally. Dinner's in the fridge. Behave yourselves." The front door clicked shut after the last word.

Wally glanced over at Alexis as the sound of a cartoon filled the silence. Her arms were crossed over her chest, a pout on her lips. The very look of a disgruntled teen. "...So, these are girl clothes aren't they?"

"I'm a girl, genius. What did you expect me to have, Red?"

"You could've given me some of your dad's," he huffed out, the credits of the cartoon running on the screen as an announcer reported the five o'clock news was on next.

"Where would the fun be in that?" She asked, he could hear the smile in her voice.

"Earlier today, There was an attempted robbery at South District Bank." Both heads snapped towards the T.V. "But thanks to South District's very own Noir, it was foiled and no injuries ensued. Let's go to the footage of the-"

"Did I just see a guy with the bottom of a goat? And a dog's tail?"

"It's a wolf's but that's Noir, goat boy extraordinaire. I did say there were three other heroes, Red."

"He was only wearing a scarf. Though I suppose its a better costume than yours. Not too many people with long red hair." He braced himself for a comeback but nothing. He glanced again at the teen. Her gaze was fixed intently onto the screen, a dreamy sort of smile on her face as she absently picked at her tattered t-shirt. "You like him!"

"Wha-what? No- I- Ugh, why'd you have to go and say that?" Her whole face went red as she stuttered for what to say. Wally couldn't help the laughter that erupted from him. He couldn't help himself, it was the first time he could get back at her for all those Nightwing being his boyfriend comments.

"I hate you," the girl muttered which caused him to laugh harder. She waited until he was quiet before speaking again. "In hopes that I don't wreck my costume this week, would you like to go shopping for some clothes?"

~oOo~

"I can't believe you made me go out in these," Wally growled to the teen who pranced a few steps ahead of him, swinging their bags back and forth. At least she had offered to carry the bags. "Do you know how many guys hit on me?"

Wally distinctly heard her mumble something along the lines of 'more than me' before she glanced backward with a smirk. "You're just upset it wasn't Nightwing."

Not this again. Yeah, Dick was cute and had his charms but why couldn't Alexis just get it through her head that he was dating Artemis. End of story. Wait, did he just think Dick was cute? So not happening right now. "How many times do I have to tell you that we're not like that."

"Denial~" She practically sang.

"Look-"

"We're here," Alexis proclaimed, suddenly stopping.

Wally looked around, a little lost. The place looked like it had once been a warehouse district. The pieces of buildings were missing, caved in on themselves. The street cracked and unrepairable. And it seemed to come with it's very own Gotham-like atmosphere. There was definitely a feeling that one didn't want to be here alone. Actually, at all for that matter.

"And where is here?"

She eyed him, a kid just doing something hard right for the first time smile on her face. "This is my training ground. Impressive I know. Try not to get overwhelmed. I thought we could try. You know, you show me your speed. Show me how to stop. Practice and what not. I know your legs are still healing and what not, but I thought maybe a little wouldn't hurt."

"Alright, fine. Just be quiet," he managed to say inbetween her words. For someone with super speed, she never used it in speech. She she rambled but one could always make out what she was saying, if they were inclined to pay attention.

He dragged a breathe through his nose, his green eyes sliding shut. Don't think about it. Just do. Don't focus on how slow everything has been lately. How agonizing it's been. Don't even focus on the screaming in his legs.

He ran a few steps but stopped. It was wrong. The build and rush of speed wasn't there. He tried a few more steps but it was just a normal, slow pace. The thing he had forced himself not to think of came crashing to the surface. Everything was slow. He was slow.

"It's...gone."

"What's gone? Red?"

* * *

One year and eleven months ago

"Oh, I can't wait for you to meet Leslie. She lives in South District so I don't get to see her much. She's also two years younger than me. Not that that matters. She's like the cutest thing ever. Imagine a box full of puppies getting tummy rubs by kittens! Now times that by ten and it's still not even how super adorable she is. And don't you dare even think of hitting on her. There will be no bruising of her purity. What am I saying? You have Nightwing, so no worries," Alexis babbled on but Wally didn't have the heart to listen.

Ever since the dawning realization that he was as slow as the rest of the world, Wally couldn't really bring himself to care about much. Couldn't bring himself to care about the overly feminine cafe they were in. Or the baby pink walls, the dainty teacups, how all the other patrons were female and staring at him, or the doilies on the table- or the fact he knew what those were.

He lifted his cup into the air, intending to take a drink only to stop halfway and set it back down with a clank.

A harsh exhale of breath much like his mother's sighs when he wouldn't confide in her, drew his attention to the teen.

"Red, it's been a month already. How long do you plan on moping? I brought you out hoping to cheer you up. Besides, staying cooped up in my house isn't good for you. Trust me, I did it one summer. Never again."

Wally opened his mouth to reply but immediately closed it, knowing by now that the girl wasn't finished. Her ramblings never ended this quickly.

"Look, I know losing your powers is hard- or at least I think it would be. But what you're doing right now isn't helping anything. Losing a piece of yourself doesn't change who you are. You're Wally freaking West. Kid Flash. The superhero!" He snorted but Alexis continued on, ignoring him. "You already know like half a dozen people without powers who still put their lives on the line. Powers don't make the hero, you should know this better than anyone. But go ahead have this little pity party, see if I care."

Sounds like Godzilla rampaging through Tokyo halted all conversations. The murmur of voices from the other patrons rose with interest over the sounds of destruction, worry and confusion coloring them.

"That's the direction Leslie comes from," Velocity whispered, her apprehension echoing those around her. She looked at Wally with a small forced smile. "Guess a hero's work is never done."

Within the blink of an eye, she was gone. The ladies' chittering increased as the sound of the fighting did, as if the impending danger had made them lose their wits. "Don't just sit there. Run!"

He didn't stick around to see if they had listened, instead Wally was out of the door and heading to the scene of the fighting. Even after years of retirement and losing his powers, he was still a hero.

Several blocks and slightly protesting legs later, he came upon the source of the noise and chaos. The half goat figure Wally had only seen on the T.V. was trading blows with a monster of a man- if that thing could even be considered a man. Ten feet tall and resembling a bull- more along the lines of a minotaur- complete with golden nose hoop and a menacing pair of horns. All the while a pink, red and black blur zoomed by grabbing stragglers and practically dragging them off.

Wally winced as Noir was sent flying into a building by a punch to the stomach, the wall cratering around him on impact.

A small child ran out from his hiding place behind a trash can to the goat hero. Grabbing Noir's hand, the kid pulled him- trying to free him from the wall, the beast approaching every second. The minotaur like beast pulled his arm back, readying a punch. Without another thought, Wally rushed forward. He dove, grabbing the kid, pulling him out of the way. His teeth gritted together as his skin scraped against the asphalt, hoping the goat boy would forgive him for letting the attack solely hit him.

When only the sound of a frustrated grunt- besides the whimpering of the kid in his arms- greeted his ears, Wally looked back toward the beast. Not only had Noir reached out and caught the creature's hand, but Velocity was on it's back, gripping it by the horns- pulling backwards- and kicking her feet into him at super speed. She looked rather like a child throwing a tantrum.

"Nice to see the hero is still alive in you, Red," Velocity laughed, a smirk pulling at her lips.

"Velocity, off," Noir grunted as the beast reached it's free hand back to grab the speedster.

"Right," she chimed, releasing her hold on the horns, launching herself off of it into a black flip. Her landing may not have been a ten, but she still let out a happy cheer. "Yes! See that? First time doing it! I'm awesome!"

Sometime during this, Noir had freed himself from the wall. His hand shot up, yanking the monster's head down by it's golden ring. The goat boy- teen- thing reared his head back, then brought it forward- slamming it into the creature's forehead.

The beast stumbled backward a few steps before crumbling to the ground like a forgotten toy.

"From now on, keep your villains in your own district," Velocity growled, looking at Noir in a mixture of disgust and anger.

Funny, I thought she liked him, Wally thought to himself as he and the kid got up. Wally gave the child a once over for any injuries. Besides a few cuts and bruises, he seemed unharmed. Wally couldn't help but think that Nightwing could've saved the boy without him getting injuried and with much more style.

Wally placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, stopping the child from investigating the fallen villain. "How'd you do that?" the little boy asked Noir, eyes full of wonder.

"Every demon has a weakness. His just happened to be a very specific spot on his forehead."

"Oh yeah? Then what's yours?" Velocity asked, a little too eager.

"Virg-" Noir answer was cut off by the sudden appearance of the tail end of his scarf being crammed into his mouth.

"That joke has officially gotten old," she hissed, arms crossed over her chest.

* * *

One year and ten months ago

"And what was wrong with the costume I made you?" Alexis not so much as asked but demanded as she eyed Wally head to toe in his new outfit. Yellow and red, a Flash's trademark colors. Though the red was darker than normal.

"It had no top."

"So?"

"Just tights."

"I still don't see the problem," she replied, circling him.

"You gave it a tutu."

"...Yeah, that might have been a little bit too much," she conceded as she stopped in front of him, eyes still roaming his outfit. "But I still can't believe the Hero Santa sent you all of these."

"You squealed something about Hero Santa before. Who is he? And what's with that name?"

"He- or she, no one really knows- gifts things to heroes when they need it. Never got anything myself. Yet you, who have been here for only a couple of months, got something. Not fair."

* * *

one year and seven months ago

The well kept streets, polished houses- more like mansions- and the beyond well groomed lawns announced the Ritz and glam of the North district, or so Alexis had informed him before their trip there. And she was right. Wally felt a little out of place walking the streets there but Alexis didn't seem to mind- even in her favorite tattered t-shirt.

"I've been wondering, why don't you use your speed more often?" Wally asked. He noticed several times that the teen almost never used her super speed unless it was for heroing. She didn't seem to have the restless energy that made speedsters move constantly around.

"Hmmm? I guess because my powers don't change who I am. I don't have this need to do anything fast- unless, you know, there's an emergency or something," she answered with a shrug. "We're almost there."

"Where would that be? You have got to start telling me where we're going," Wally half complained, used to the teen's ways by now.

"You know how you got your ass handed to you last week?"

"Yeah," he mumbled, rubbing the bruise that was still healing on his side. "What kind of name is Burningman for someone who doesn't have fire powers?"

"We've been over that, Red. We're not getting into it again. Anyway, someone offered to train you."

"I don't need training. I've had lessons from Black Canary."

She sent him a bemused smile. "And yet it wasn't enough or you're not a good student. Besides, don't you want to be Nightwing good?" Wally opened his mouth to shoot back that no one- besides a bat- could be that good but Alexis rushed on. "Oh, the guy's name is Unicorn-man but-"

A prime-evil roar resounded through the air. Wally looked skyward for the source. A rather buff man was hurtling toward them, gray and white hair flapping behind him like a flag. He slammed into the ground, going into a crouch as he did so. A site of impact was created as proof of his arrival. Huh, kinda like Conner before he learned to control his strength.

"Unicorn-man?"

"-I really wouldn't call him that," Alexis finished her sentence right at the once speedster asked.

Wally's head snapped in her direction only to see the spot empty. That brat. With a roar that was like a laugh, an arm closed around his neck and brought him towards the body of the old, rather muscular man- a fist descending onto head, delivering a noogie. "Where's that bloody speedster? The scamp still owes me some girl scout cookies."

A distant yell with no regret was heard, "I ate them!"

"Never trust a speedster to deliver food."

* * *

One year and five months ago

Wally stood up, surveying his handiwork. A bank robber lay unconscious on the street, hog tied but the red head couldn't help but think Dick would've done it better and faster and with a funny quip or something. But considering this was his first hero event after doing spartan training with a certain old timer and it was stopping a bank robbery with Velocity and Noir, he didn't do half bad.

"Whoa Red, looks like all that training with Unicorn-man paid off," Velocity's voice filled the alleyway. Instinctively Wally flinched slightly at the name Unicorn-man. During his training, he learned the old man did not tolerate that name.

"Hey Velma, where's Scooby-do?"

"Scooby-do? Oh! Noir! There's the witty repertoire I've been looking for. Oh my gosh, I'm so excited. What's next?"

"There was suppose to be more?"

"That's so disappointing Red. I bet you heard that a lot every night from your girlfriend."

"Vel! Geez. Isn't there something you're supposed to be doing?"

"You caught one of them, Noir did as well and I chased down three," the teen boasted.

"Weren't there six of them?" Wally asked. With a silent swear, the speedster speed away, no doubt searching the city for the final robber. "If she stuck around, I could've told her I got the last one." Wally looked up at the man dangling from the fire escape, tired up and squirming.

* * *

Three months ago

"So Rob and I set off a stink bomb in the cave. No one could find the source and it was hilarious. Besides the fact that Conner nearly destroyed half the mountain trying to find it and we got cleaning duty for the next month," Wally said, regaling Alexis with another story of back home. And he told her a lot while they patrolled the city- mostly her district. Even everything leading up to his being stuck here.

"And Rob is Nightwing?"

"Yes and don't start with the whole Nightwing is my boyfriend crap." It was bad enough that every day Wally was thinking about home - particulartly Dick, but not in the he's so dreamy kinda of way. No, that'd be sick. Home sickness was inevitable, he supposed, though he had gotten used to life in this dimension. Plus, Alexis had cut down on the whole Nightwing equals boyfriend thing throughout the year. Though it still cropped up from time to time.

"I was just checking, sheesh. He's like the only one with several different names and also, the only one you don't refer to by his real name. Which is totally sweet, protecting his secret identity from someone who's never going to meet him. Perfect boyfriend material~"

And there it was. An 'ow' accompanied the hit he did upside her blonde head. She had cut and dyed her hair a few months back, stating that she needed to refresh her image. That included changing her costume too.

"And here I was going to say I might have a way to get you home." At that statement, Wally stared at her open mouthed. The teen rushed on. "I mean, I've been thinking about it since we figured out you're not in the right world and in science class they keep talking about the scientific method. So I figured why not use it or something. You know, changing some factors like the world threatening bit. It took quite a bit of time to get everything together and I'm not sure it'll work but-"

Her sentence was halted as Wally crushed her in a hug. "How do we do it?"

"Here's the thing, it involves magic," she answered but rushed on when Wally groaned. "I know how you feel about magic, Mr. Science, but I figured I believe in fairies enough for the both of us."

"What are we waiting for?"

"That's the spirit, Red. Just please don't embarrass me."

* * *

Two months and three weeks and five days days ago

"Pfthahahaha, you're just a little adorable teddy-weddy bear," Wally couldn't help but laugh at the black teddy bear sitting before him all high and mighty. Really, with the long grand hallway lined with candelabrum that lit themselves as one approached, the Japanese sliding door and only letting Alexis in first, he had thought the person on the other side was going to be some great being. Like the wizard of Oz, though he turned out to be only a simple human.

"Oh my god. We talked about this," Alexis hissed then turned to the teddy and spoke, like a mother apologizing about her misbehaving child. "I'm really sorry. He's normally not like this. Please, dear god, just shut up, Red."

The 'teddy' gave Wally little mind- actually none at all. His attention was fully on the speedster as the bear threw a couple of gems onto the table. The gems reminded Wally of the glamor charm Dick had Zatanna make. In a rare display of unneeded speed, Alexis snatched them up and tucked them away as the teddy began to explain.

"The black one should emulate the effect of the 'chrysalis' with a few fail-safes built in, so the whole world isn't doomed if you mess up. The pink one is a duplication charm."

"Sweet! So there'll be more of me?" Alexis asked, more excited than she should have been.

"No. It will just duplicate the actions of the wearer by three. So triple the running force."

As a thought occurred to him, Wally snapped out of his little girl trance- what, everyone loves teddy bears- to interject with some skepticism. "Wait, if you're some sort of all powerful sorcerer, why can't you just open a portal to my dimension?"

"It wasn't in her budget."

~oOo~

Wally stood- shivering slightly from the cold- as the two gems they had received from the 'teddy' and Alexis did their jobs. With a deep breath, he closed his eyes- half prepared for it to fail. The other half ready to go home. To see his best friend again. To hang with him, to kick some bad guy ass throughout the streets of Gotham, and-

Of course, he couldn't wait to see everyone else: Artemis, his parents, Barry. He quickly added to himself.

Wally shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, a soft humming spreading throughout his body. The humming began to intensify and cause his body to shake violently. His arms wrapped around his body, holding his sides tight. It felt like his body going so fast that his molecules were coming apart. It was a familiar feeling, like the one from almost two years ago.

But it soon subsided. He swayed slightly as he opened his eyes- an exclaim of surprise left his lips. The red head stumbled backward away from the ledge he was standing on. Feet on more solid ground, he surveyed his surroundings.

It was dark, dreary threatening to rain and, in the distance, he spied a building with the word WAYNE on it. He- they did it!

Wally let out a little cheer, not even resisting the urge to do a victory dance but it was cut short as the same pain from earlier assaulted him- bringing him to his knees. As his knees hit snow, the arctic landscape greeted him and there was Velocity several feet away, plopped down on her back- panting from exhaustion.

"Wally?" Her voice was filled with concerned.

"It worked. I was in Gotham," he answered her unspoken question, his voice full of wonder. Then- even though pain was shooting through his body- he added with a laugh, "I did it! Oh, the cleverness of me."

"Of course, I did nothing," came her response, words forced out through pants but her joy matched his.

"It's always a relief to know both worlds have the same classic lit."

"I'll be honest, Red, I only watched the movie."

"Me too."

* * *

Present

"Whoa, back the batcar up a second-"

"Batmobile," Wally corrected the girl, rubbing his face with a sigh- cringing at the bareness of it.

"Whatever," Velocity snapped, rolling her eyes. "Let me get this straight. You ran into your cousin, lost not only the earpiece but your mask as well, and now you're back here." She summarized what the red head had just told her. Her peeved expression from earlier had not dissipated.

"Sorry about losing them, I know money's tight-"

"That's what you think I'm upset about?" Though it was posed as a question, something in the teen's voice told Wally he wasn't supposed to answer or even speak for the next few minutes. "No, Red, what I'm mad about is that after your second visit, you decided not to go find your loved ones. Let me remind you of the reasons you gave me A) you didn't want to get their hopes up in case we couldn't get you back permanently- or some other bs- even though they could totally help us. B) you had this theory that anything touching you during transport could get stuck back here with you and you didn't wanna risk your friends getting trapped here like you. And if that cat that's sleeping on my bed right now, the one you saved from a tree and happened to be holding when you got pulled back, wasn't proof enough of your theory, the earpiece and mask are from my 'dimension' and aren't here now. It's safe to say your theory is right!" The two stood in silence, Velocity panting slightly from her rant. Eventually, she spoke up again. "So, what do we do now?"

"I think its kinda obvious. We stop."

"What? That's like the last thing I expected. They can help us."

"They're probably already trying but it doesn't matter. I'm not going to put them in danger."

"They're heroes, they put themselves in danger on a daily basis. Worse that could happen is they're stuck here."

"I'm sorry but I can't be like you. I can't see those I care about hurt. Besides I never asked for your help."

"What?" Her face paled, eyes squeezed tight in pain. A huff of air escaped her, followed by several dry laughs. "Fine. Consider me helping you over." And she was gone.

Wally swore to himself. Maybe pissing off the person who was your ride wasn't the smartest move.


	5. Gimmicks and Deception

**Chapter: **Gimmicks and Deception  
**A/N: **I'm late again. Sorry! Life kinda kicked me while I was down. Plus my beta is sick, so a me edited chapter- I fail at editing. If you see any mistakes, or something seems off, feel free to let me know. I probably haven't said this yet but thank you to those who've read this.  
I was thinking about doing a chapter focusing on what Dick did during the two years but when I started writing it, I realized it was turning out like: angst, angst, Where's Wally?, angst, angst, Hi Barbara, angst, angst, oh Jason's alive!, Why not Wally?, angst, angst.

* * *

Joining the police academy had been a no brainier for Dick. He had needed a job that complimented his night life. Plus it prevented him from being completely consumed by the question, "Where's Wally?" Or so he had hoped. Though it did little to actually distract him from it, especially tonight. But one thing the police force had provided him with was a way to help people out of costume. That, he wouldn't give up.

Dick shifted in his patrol car, ten minutes till his shift ended and Nightwing would come out. Maybe he would be more lucky than Dick and run into Wall- that new hero again. He couldn't be one hundred percent sure that it was Wally, not yet. Nothing was for sure on assumptions and gut feelings- most of the time. Yeah, instinct and assumptions helped a lot, and proved to be true most of the time for him but facts were needed, proof. Then he'd crush that idiot in a hug and-

There went his phone again, vibrating on his hip. It was the fifth time in the last ten minutes. He thought after Barbara's visit he would get some peace and quiet for at least a short while before someone started pestering him to rejoin the team. Apparently he was mistaken.

The vibrating stopped for a few seconds only to start once more. Why couldn't this person take a hint? After debating for a brief moment, Dick answered.

"Whereareyou?" Bart's voice demanded through the phone, his words slurring together from his speed- only due to years of dealing with his own speedster was Dick able to comprehend what the teen was saying. "Icalled liketentimes. You're notat yourapartment. Ineedto-"

"You broke into my place?" He'd have to upgrade the security. If Batman had found out, he would be pissed that Dick's place had been infiltrated so easily by two people in as many days.

"More like vibrated in. Where are you?" He repeated.

"Working. Can this wait?"

"Nononope. Have a mission briefing in twenty at the watchtower and I really need to speak to you. Now. This may sound crazy but its about that new hero and...Wally."

Dick drew in a sharp breath. Was this really the proof he was looking for? "I'll met you at the watchtower in ten." He hung up before the speedster could reply.

~oOo~

After a quick change and locating the nearest zeta beam, Dick found himself at the watchtower- almost every pair of eyes on him. Before anyone could say anything to him, Bart had sped over from his spot next to Blue in less than a second.

The young speedster grabbed Dick's wrist and began to drag him at a faster than normal pace, though the once boy wonder was use to this from Wally having done similar things throughout the years. Dick spared a glance around the room. Quite a few of the Young Justice members were there and some of the leaguers- they each wore an expression of surprise at his presence. Blue Beetle being the exception, staring at Bart with worry.

Dick couldn't blame him. He could practically feel the agitation radiate off of the auburn. Bart shoved him inside a room, apparently their destination. It was a room usually reserved for meetings and conferences. The speedster spoke, initiating a lock down procedure, ensuring no outside forces- people, kryptonians, telepaths, or what have you- could come in or overhear.

The teen moved from one side of the room to the other- moving chairs, fiddling with objects, shoving his hands into his jean's pockets. Obviously at a lost as to how to start the conversation.

"Why aren't you in costume?" Dick asked, trying to break the speedster from whatever mental musing he was in. Plus- much as it pained him to see Bart in the Kid Flash costume- the kid did say he had a mission soon.

"I feel like a phony in it," the teen admitted quietly. Realizing what he had said, Bart frowned before snapping back, "That's not why I called you here."

Suddenly, Dick found two things in his hands. He didn't see Bart pull them out, but he must have- probably from his pockets. An earpiece, a communicator but old tech compared to what they were used to. The next object was a domino mask. One that he had saw for the first time yesterday.

Dick's eyes widened beneath his own mask, a question that came out as a whisper followed, "Where?"

"Central City. So Babs was right, you did met him," Bart answered, his own voice just as quiet. Dick vaguely noted that the speedster had finally came to a stop, standing completely still.

"Who was-"

"Under the mask? I'd say take a guess, but I'm pretty sure you know."

"Wally but why would he-"

"Not come find us? Keep his identity a secret? No idea but maybe it has something to do with his new ability to suddenly disappear. Or the fact that he doesn't appear to have his super speed anymore. So not crash, my own cuzz trying to run from me at that slow pace," Bart rambled, beginning to fidget again.

Dick stared at the mask for a bit, imagining the face that had worn it yesterday. Why hadn't he recognized Wally straight away? Why didn't that idiot say anything?! What did Bart mean about suddenly disappearing and the lose of his powers? Well, that would explain why he had seemed so slow yesterday. But if Wally had been alive this whole time- powers or no- why hadn't he told them?! The mask crumbled in his hand as Dick unconsciously closed it in a fist.

With a sigh, he shifted his attention to the communicator. It looked like the unwanted love child of an old hearing aid and a mutated headphone. He rolled it between his fingers before pressing the button, hoping his luck would hold out. A small static sound emitted from the device, it was still sending and receiving a signal. Meaning they could trace it back to the source- and Wally.

Both heroes stared at the device as a small squeak that sounded like a voice started to come from it. Dick brought it up to his ear with a frown and immediately grimaced as the voice's volume increased.

"Hello? I swear if a stray cat or dog swallowed this and I'm hearing their digestive track, I'm gonna throw mine in the ocean or maybe I'll shove it so far up Red's as-"

"Excuse me?" Dick cut into the girl's rant.

"Oh shi- a real human. Wow, wasn't expecting that. Please disregard my previous statement. This is so awkward. Who are you?" Then as an after thought, she added quietly, "Damn that Red. It's like he purposely makes my life difficult."

"Red?"

"Oh, uh, you might know the jerk by Flamebird. Ugh, that name. Though I suppose its better than the first two he gave me. I should get a medal for making sure he didn't pick a lame name. Speaking of names, still don't know yours."

Whoever this voice belonged to, it was apparent she liked to ramble. "Isn't it customary to introduce yourself first?" After years of fighting crime with The Batman, he could almost feel the glare she was sending his way through the communicator.

"It seems as if we've come to an impasse. Only one thing to do, annoying and badly sung children's songs."

Dick could almost laugh. She was trying to threaten him with something so absurd. Two could play that game. "Nails on a chalkboard."

"Well played sir, well played." She conceded. A silence followed but only for a few seconds. "My name's Velocity."

"Velocity?" Dick repeated, glancing at Bart with a raised eyebrow. The speedster was already at work searching the tower's database for any information on her.

"Yeah, you know, the rate of change-"

"Of the position of an object."

"...You're one of those aren't you? One of those math and science people. Ugh, my luck is the worse. Why must my life be plagued with your kind? So, mystery man, who are you?"

Dick pressed his lips together, thinking. He glanced over at Bart, who shook his head- there was no data on her. No data wasn't a bad thing but it also wasn't good. Batman's databases were extensive, to not appear would mean you virtually didn't exist. But if she was working with Wally, she couldn't be bad, right? With a soft little sigh, he came to a decision.

"Nightwing."

The comm was dead quiet for several minutes. Just when he was about to ask if she was alright, her voice suddenly broke through, disbelief and excitement coloring it. "You're kidding me, right? Nightwing? _The Nightwing?_ Oh my god, oh mygod, ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod! Ican'tbelievethisitsnotpossibleitsNightwingIgottat ellRedcraplefthimatthearctic-"

Dick tossed the earpiece to Bart when the words became to fast for him to understand. "It's one of your people."

With a confused little frown, Bart put the device to his ear. Understanding lit his face instantly and he began to speak back at the same speed. Dick leaned against the table, preparing himself for a wait as the two speedsters conversed through the device.

After a few minutes, Bart laughed and pulled the communicator from his ear, a smile gracing his lips. "She's gone, something about needing to pick Wally up from his trip to save the polar bears. But she's going to help us get him back. She has a theory that she's working on and I have one of my own. It was one of the things I wanted to discuss with you."

Dick raised his eyebrows at that, gesturing for the teen to continue. Bart took a deep breath before he jumped in. Yeah, Flamebird was Wally, duh. He's stuck in an alternate dimension, powerless- so moded. Through a series of not so unfortunate events, he became the hero Flamebird- she was really adamant that Wally's choices in names sucked. They- well, she- eventually figured out how to get back here, at least temporary. Due to some inane reason, Wally is refusing to try again now. Bart summarized in a single breath.

"My theory is that there should be a type of energy residue when he crosses between the dimensions, like chronatron energy, that we could study it's properties and open our own portal to snag him back. I know we scanned the area when he first disappeared but we might not have picked it up because it dissipates faster than chronatron energy. I'm thinking about calling it Tachyon energy."

It still seemed strange when the normally goofy Bart suddenly spoke as if he knew what he was talking about. In fact, he did. Dick was one of the few people who knew the kid made the time machine. "Pretty sure that's copyrighted, Bart. Jaime should never have let you watch Star Trek."

Bart waved that away and continued on. "So, if her theory is correct, we should be seeing Wally tomorrow night at Happy Harbor around eight, this gonna be so crash. But we're going to need to go over the details or we're going be feeling the mode-"

"Kid Flash, report to the briefing room," Batman's voice cut in over the intercom.

"How did he-? I sealed the room."

"He's Batman," Dick answered with a shrug, as if that explained everything.

"Fine, fine." Bart threw his hands into the air in resignation. "After this mission, we're getting everything straight. I don't want my cuzz feeling the mode anymore." Without another word, the auburn zoomed off- no doubt suiting up for his up coming mission.

With a sigh, Dick exited the room- not looking forward to the former teammates that were no doubt waiting to pounce on him with questions. And he was right.

"How are you?" "Are you coming back to the team?" "Whose mask is that?" Were some of the questions he could make out before batgirl's voice rose above everyone else's. "So, you want to tell us about that new hero?"

"What's there to tell? He's a hero, we're heroes. It's all crash," Bart said as he appeared next to Nightwing, donned in the Kid Flash costume.

Barbara did not seem pleased by the answer, crossing her arms across her chest. "Anything else? Maybe his name? Or how he looks under the mask?"

Dick and Bart traded a glance, silently considering the possibilities. There was a reason Wally was keeping his identity a secret. Dick may not know it yet but he wanted to respect his friend's decision, no matter how stupid.

"Kind of like degenerate Roy," Dick supplied.

"But without the facial hair," Bart added, taking up the once boy wonder's lead.

* * *

Food of all kind, from pizzas to salads, burgers to sushi, ice cream cakes to flans, littered the table before Wally. Just the thought of someone eating all that food by themselves made him queasy. Sure, he had once been able to pack away all that food, but he also once had super speed that had earned him the name Kid Flash and a fast metabolism that accompanied it.

Alexis sat across from him, humming as she bit into a slice of pizza- savoring the taste. She was eating without using her speed but the teen sure hadn't restrained the use of her powers when gathering the buffet, making sure not one inch of the table was bare.

As if feeling his stare on her, Alexis lifted her eyes to his. "What?" She asked through a mouthful of food. With slight difficultly- obviously from not chewing all the way- she swallowed. "Come on, Red. We both apologized for being such boneheads to each other. Thus the feast of forgiving." She frowned as if just now realizing she didn't have a plate. She settled for placing her pizza back on the box before continuing. "I know there's no such thing but there needs to be. Feasts make everyone happy. Look at Thanksgiving. And Christmas- although people might be happy because of the presents. Presents are nice but so isfood. Foodisreallygood. Itmakeseverythingbetter."

His green eyes narrowed suspiciously. For her, super speed speech either meant the girl was overly excited or she was planning something. He learned neither was good when it concerned her. "The answer is no. We're not doing it again."

"Oh come on Red! If my theory is right, there wouldn't be a risk ofrunningintoanyone youknow," she shot back, her words still running together. Her arms crossed over her chest, her interest in the food before her apparently gone.

Wally groaned, giving his head a slight shake. After apologizing and hauling his butt out of the arctic, she had prattled on and on about this 'theory' she had. About how where and what he was thinking about before hand effected where he had ended up. When they had first started trying to get him back, Wally that occurence a few times.

He had been thinking about Rob and Gotham the first crossing and bam, there he had been. The second had been similar but this time was Happy Harbor and a memory of playing video games in the cave. Then there was Bialya, Metropolis, Bludhaven, Central City- to name a few of the places he had ended up, each with a memory attached to it that he had recalled before crossing. Wally had been surprised with the connection the teen had made, considering he only told her about the first two times. How she had picked up on that trend, he wasn't sure but what he did know was she pestering him to try one more time. He had to admit, it was a rather sound theory for Alexis to come up with.

Deciding to relent- from experience, he knew Alexis could keep bugging him for days- Wally offered, "It doesn't have to be Happy Harbor, how about the desert-"

"Nuh-uh, not taking the chance that this time will be the one that takes, and you're stuck in a desert of all places- no food, no water, no chance for survival. Happy Harbor. Come on, you keep telling me to embrace my inner nerd. **For the sake of science**," she insisted, throwing her hands into the air in exasperation.

"Fine," he conceded grabbing a box of Chinese takeout, slinking out of the kitchen. What could the harm be in one more try. Besides, no one would be there. Mount Justice was still a pile of rubble.

~oOo~

New mask in place, Wally stared at the pile of rock around him- what remained of the mountain. It had worked. Alexis's insane idea had actually worked. He'd make a scientist out of her yet! It might take some time and drilling the fundamentals in her head but it was doable. Plus-

"Fancy meeting you here."

Wally froze at the all too familiar voice from behind him. He didn't even need to turn to know that it was Nightwing. He was going to kill that speedster.


	6. Interrupted Inquisition

**Chapter: **Interrupted Inquisition  
**A/N: **I'm just going to update this on the days I have off (or at least on one of them). My days off vary every week but at least then I won't feel bad every time I miss a deadline. I was trying to do a more serious chapter but then jokes and references popped up and my fingers couldn't help themselves. Self editing again- yay? If there's a mistake or something doesn't seem right/make sense, let me know. And thank you for reading

* * *

Mount Justice. As if this plan wasn't sketchy and full of flaws already, how was he suppose to find Wally in a pile of rubble that used to be a mountain. Plus, Dick had called into work, giving the police commissioner a lame excuse about a family emergency. He was pretty sure the real reason of 'My dead best friend- who I have had a crush on for the last several years but never acted on it since he had a girlfriend- is coming back today' wouldn't go over so well. He was already regretting the conversation that he would no doubt have with Bruce about all this because- one way or another- The Batman always seemed to find out everything.

Bart had assured him that they'd each take separate sides of the mountain, and that the speedster would make rounds at regular intervals- checking for Wally's arrival. They would not miss it, he promised. Though he seemed a little distracted- something about the mission not going to plan last night, or so Bart said. He didn't elaborate on it.

"Anything?" Dick asked, activating his comm ten minutes after the designated time. He had already waited two years, so waiting all night for a chance to see Wally again wasn't a big deal. He'd probably wait all eternity for that matter- as creepy and stalkerish as that sounded.

"Nothing. You? Of coursenot sinceyou'reasking me. Maybe if we gave it-"

The rest of Bart's words were lost on Dick as the feeling of his hair standing on end and a shudder pass through him. Ten feet in front of him the air seemed to shimmer and ripple. The form of Flamebird appeared- faint, blurred and staticy.

"Found him," he whispered into his comm, alerting Bart.

"Berightthere," came the speedster's reply but the once boy wonder wasn't listening- though he had enough of his mind activate a device on his utility belt so that it would start recording the energy readings around him.

He watched silently as if bewitched as his best friend solidified in front of him, eyes riveted- taking in every inch of his best friend- his posterior included. Wally held his body as if proud of something. Dick couldn't help the smile that graced his lips, glad that the red head's back was facing him.

"Long time no see," he drawled, trying to catch Wally's attention.

His best friend stiffening at his words was not the reaction he was hoping for- though he had expected it. The silenced stretched on for several minutes and Dick mused if the former speedster was considering killing someone- if the muscles twitching under his costume was any indication. His mind drifted back to what Bart had told him. That Wally had said he didn't want to endanger his friends- or so the girl named Velocity had informed him. Stupid but definitely Wally-like. He suppressed a sigh as Wally turned around, a slight frown on the red head's face. matching his own.

The two stared at each other, as if assessing the changes in the other. In truth, Dick was. It was something he was trained to do. During the two years Wally had become rather fit, not that he hadn't been before. He was just more fit and deliciously so. His costume highlighted his toned abs and hugged his body in all the right ways.

It was only thanks to years of training with the Batman that kept the blush from Dick's face and his thoughts concealed. The silence, though, was a little unnerving. The Wally he knew wasn't one to keep his mouth shut- hence the nickname Kid Mouth. This time, Dick didn't bother restraining his sigh. It seemed as if he was going to have to be the one to break the ice.

.

..

.

Wally's body tensed again at Dick's sigh. From experience he knew someone from the batfam sighing was never a good thing. A part of him couldn't help but notice Dick looked older. Well, of course he was, two years had passed since he had last saw the acrobat. But the invasion and whatever had happened in recent years had obviously taken its toll on the once jovial youth.

"You're impossibly red headed," Dick said with a mischievous grin that Wally hadn't seen in a long time on his face. Said red head hadn't a clue as to what he was getting at with that comment. "And fit. You fight crime... wearing a costume, and red mask. You don't have super powers... and you don't really talk, like - like you don't want anyone to know who you are. You never stick around: you suddenly disappear in a flash."

Dick took a few steps toward Wally- closing the distance between them, letting a small silence envelop them before pressing on. "How long have you been Flamebird?"

Then it clicked. Dick was mimicking that one sparkly vampire movie. The one all the girls had gone ga-ga over years ago. The one the female members of their team had dragged them to go see. But they regretted it in the end when he and Dick cracked a joke at the movie's expense nearly every five seconds in the theater- getting the whole group kicked out. Now how did the next part go? Oh yeah. "Two years."

"How long have you been fighting crime."

"...Awhile."

"I know who you are."

"Say it."

"Roy Harper," came his breathless answer.

"What? Dude! No!" Wally protested though half halfheartedly, knowing it was a joke by the way Dick's lips pulled into a Cheshire cat type grin. He briefly wondered if Roy and Cheshire were still a thing.

Dick closed the distance between them with smooth, graceful steps- geez, how'd he moved so well over all this rubble? The raven hair man pulled him into a hug, arms wrapping around his back.

Wally froze at the suddenness of the embrace, his arms hanging uselessly at his sides as Dick rested his face against his neck- hot breath dancing across his skin. He kept forgetting they were about the same height now, though Dick was slightly taller than him now. Damn puberty.

He wrapped his own arms around Dick's back, drawing him closer- enjoying the feel of his best friend in his arms. Definitely not letting his mind linger on what he was doing. Not thinking about how wrong it was to enjoy this so much. A small smile lighted his face only to disappear a second latter as the sound of someone clearing their throat caught both men's attention.

Wally scrambled away from Dick- or tried to anyway. The younger man had a tight grip on him and seemed to refuse to let Wally go. A safe distance away stood Bart, covering his mouth- and chuckles- with a hand. The red head sent a glare at his cousin. If only he stayed away a little while longer so-

He stopped that thought there.

"Not crash, hogging my cuz like that," Bart pouted.

Dick pulled away from Wally- with some reluctance it seemed. Or was that just Wally's head playing tricks on him? His traitorous thoughts that had been poisoned by a certain speedster and her teasing. But he really liked the heat of Dick's body pressed against him and the sudden cool air that filled its place made his body ache for it almost immediately.

A body slammed into his a second later, arms squeezing the air out of his lungs. His lips twitched into a smile as he looked down at his cousin, Bart's face buried in his chest. Bart had grown too. He wasn't that tiny kid from the future anymore. Well, he was still shorter than Wally. He felt Bart's mouth move against his chest- an unheard tumble of words pouring out.

"What?"

Bart pulled back his head slightly, giving the words enough room to escape. "I missed you."

"Me too," Wally admitted as he lifted a hand to ruffle the auburn's hair. That plan failed though as his hand landed on nothing and his body was once again missing the body heat of another.

"Brat."

"Bart actually. Geez cuz, forgetting my named after only two years," he answered with a mock pout.

"Sorry to interrupt this family reunion, but mind explaining what happened?" Dick's question cut through the air and hung heavy for a few moments. The two younger males staring at him expecting an answer.

"Considering I've been set up, not really," Wally replied with a shrug. The nerve of these two, giving him innocent looks. If Wally hadn't known better, he would've believed them too. "You guys probably know everything already."

"Wally, we-"

_I'm waking up~_

_I feel it in my bones~_

_Enough to make my systems grow~_

"Sorrysorrysorry," Bart apologized in a rush. He prattled on as he searched his costume for his phone. "It's my phone. Not crash. Could've sworn I put itonsilent. Where is it?" With a not so quiet exclamation, the auburn haired teen pulled out his phone, answering it. Before even a word could leave his mouth, a voice on the other side cut him off. Anytime he would open his mouth to speak, he'd promptly close it again.

"Fine, fine, I'll be right there," the teen huffed before slipping his phone back into his costume. He glanced between Wally and Dick, torn with indecision and regret. "There's been a break in the mission that I went on last night. They need me. I just, ugh-"

In less time than it took to blink, Bart was by Dick- whispering fervently him. His arms gestured wildly and several times the teen glanced pointedly at Wally. Only after he got a confirmation from the once boy wonder did Bart leave- not before crushing his cousin in another hug.

"Shouldn't you be going too?" Wally asked, breaking the brief silence that followed Bart's exit.

"A question for a question," Dick offered, his lips pulling into a smirk.

"What, and have you pull that 'Spoiler request. No comment,' crap you used to do when you couldn't answer because of the bat's rules," he said with a grunt but it wasn't even a second later when he added, "I'm going to regret this but fine. So?"

"Let's start off with something light," Dick suggested.

"Uh, got yourself a girlfriend? Ever hooked up with Barbara?" Wally asked, looking to the side- trying to appear not too interested in the answer.

"That's two questions," Dick pointed out but answered anyway. "No. And once or twice but we figured out we weren't quite the match we thought we were. You?"

"Hooked up with Barbara? No," Wally answered with a laugh, then continued on with force bravo. "Even though the babes were all over me, I didn't want to get tied down over there." He had to focus his mind away from his fifth trip back here. His apartment and...Artemis'- bare, void of any sign they had lived there. Yeah, no girlfriend. "No boyfriend either."

Dick blinked his eyes a few times but Wally fired off his next question before his friend could process what was said. "So what did you decide to do- you know, besides being a hero? I bet you're attending some ivy league school or something."

"Actually, I enrolled in the Bludhaven police academy," Dick answered a little sheepishly.

"Seriously? I know you mentioned something about that before but I figured the Bats would've made you go to Harvard or something," Wally shrugged, a part of him happy that his friend was doing what he wanted.

"He did argue a bit but Alfred convinced him to let me try," he offered a little lamely before asking another question. "You were pretty good the other day, fighting I mean. You used to get your ass handed to you by Canary. So, who taught you?"

"A guy named..." Wally paused, already regretting what he was about to say. It's not he even gave the red head another name to call him. "Unicornman. Don't you even dare."

"Unicornman?" Dick snickered, barely containing his laughter. "Was he all 'friendship is magic'?"

"I'm sorry, we can't all be trained by the Batman," Wally snapped back, playfully. "So...mission? Again, shouldn't you have gone?"

"After the invasion, I needn't a break- so I took one," he answered with a shrug.

"For two years? That's-"

"Why were you avoiding everyone?"

"You didn't fully answer," Wally blurted out, trying to dodge the question. Dick wasn't having any of it by the batglare he sent his way. He fidgeted under his friend's gaze before he broke down and whispered, "I didn't want to put you guys in danger."

"It can't be just that. What's the other reason?"

"That's the reason, Dick. So just let it drop," Wally growled, turning away from his friend- running his hand through his hair in agitation. He wasn't going to admit that maybe he was still trying to sort through his feelings. Feelings he didn't quite know he had until a teenage girl started to pick at them two years ago- even if she was joking. Or that-

"Try again."

"The heroes in that dimension are just kids, without any training. They need someone there to help them. Besides-" _life here moved on without me. There's no place here for me anymore. Even Dick's life has probably changed._

.

..

.

Dick didn't like the slump of Wally's shoulders, the sadness that seemed to be etch into his face. A smiling, happy Wally was best. Flustered was good too, Dick admitted silently to himself. But the gloominess that seemed to roll off of his best friend was heart breaking. He closed the distance between them again, settling his hand upon the red head's shoulder. "What?"

"Nothing," Wally snapped, jerking away from Dick's touch as if it burned. Dick bit back the words that rose- the argument, the frustration. It wasn't going to help anything. Wally was already retreating back into himself. At this rate, there was a good chance that Wally was going to try to leave and Dick had promised Bart that he'd keep the red head here until he got back. Not that Dick wasn't enjoying every second he had with Wally as it was. It was an indescribable feeling having his best friend back.

"Wally," he tried but it seemed like things where bent on interrupting him tonight. The sound of sirens and destruction carried from the center of the city all the way to where the mountain once stood. Dick sighed as he watched his friend already starting to run towards it. He might have been admiring Wally's fighting style just a couple night ago but that didn't mean he thought the red head had a chance against a super powered villain. At least not without Dick by his side.

* * *

Kiara. Queen. of. kaos : Thank you very much!

narutogoldylocks: I love Bart. He's so cute. I guess Wally has several reasons for not wanting to see them. Insignificant by themselves but all together...

Ahrua192: Thank you. Oh and thank you for pointing out that mistake. I didn't even notice. D:

celestialstarynight: I'm glad you found that funny. XD In my head, I see speedsters as a species of their own sometimes. And thanks for liking Velocity, that makes me so happy.


End file.
